Cycling to Brussels: Democratic Subjectivity Between Situationship and Political Form

Authors

  • Jelisaveta Blagojević Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade
  • Irena Cvetković Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje

Keywords:

EU enlargement, Serbia, democratic subjectivity, political situationship, student movements, political belonging, indeterminacy

Abstract

This paper argues that the contemporary impasse of European Union enlargement is not a temporary delay but a structural condition of political suspension. Rather than operating as a linear process of convergence, enlargement unfolds through deferral, ambiguity, and managed proximity. Drawing on political theory and recent student movements in Serbia, the paper develops the distinction between relationship and situationship to conceptualize forms of political belonging that are neither fully institutionalized nor entirely external to institutions. It argues that democratic subjectivity increasingly emerges outside institutional frameworks and that the future of enlargement depends on the capacity to recognize these emergent forms as political rather than residual.

Author Biographies

Jelisaveta Blagojević, Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade

Jelisaveta Blagojević is a philosopher and theorist of contemporary political thought, media, and culture. She is Professor at the Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade. Her research focuses on the intersections of contemporary political philosophy, feminist and queer theory. She has published numerous essays and books exploring critical theory, subjectivity, and contemporary transformations of democracy.

Irena Cvetković, Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje

Irena Cvetkovic holds a PhD in gender studies. As a younger researcher she has worked on many research projects in the fields of sociology, gender studies, and media. She is the author behind the socially engaged blog Fem Guerilla, and afterwards was a columnist in the Dnevnik newspaper. She is an activist for the human rights of marginalized communities, and has a special focus on LGBT people’s rights, drug users and sex workers. She is active in several formal and informal activist associations. At the momenth, she is the Executive Director of Coalition Margini.

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Published

2026-10-29

How to Cite

Blagojević, J., & Cvetković, I. (2026). Cycling to Brussels: Democratic Subjectivity Between Situationship and Political Form. Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, 1(1), 8-17. Retrieved from https://www.identitiesjournal.edu.mk/index.php/IJPGC/article/view/729

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture: Special Issue

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture

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